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The
Mesa Verde Association is a joint
membership program of the Mesa Verde
Museum Association and the Mesa Verde
Foundation. Your MVA membership supports
both of these 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organizations.
The Mesa Verde Museum Association
(tax ID 84-1404606) provides educational
and interpretive material to visitors
of Mesa Verde National Park through
an active publishing program and the
operation of retail bookstores online,
in the park, and in Cortez, CO. Our
services enhance the visitor experience
and promote stewardship of Mesa Verde's
world-renowned archeological resources
and natural landscapes. Proceeds from
all Association operations are donated
to the park's interpretive, research,
and education programs.
The Mesa Verde Foundation (tax ID
84-046967) funds capital improvements,
projects, and educational endeavors
for Mesa Verde National Park. Our
projects include construction of a
new Visitor and Research Center near
the park's entrance and remodeling
the existing Far View Visitor Center
into a Tribal Cultures Center to enhance
understanding of the connection between
the Ancestral Puebloans and contemporary
Native American tribes.
You are receiving this email because
you are a member of the Mesa Verde
Association or because you purchased
a product from the Mesa Verde Museum
Association. To ensure that you continue
to receive emails from us, add info@mesaverde.org
to your address book today.
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Welcome to "Verde Views," the e-newsletter
for Mesa Verde Association members and friends.
This periodic publication will keep you
informed about Association news and events,
park happenings, new products and special
sales.
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Free
Mesa Verde Winter Ecology Hike This Saturday
Join a Mesa Verde National Park ranger
for a free family-friendly guided hike
Saturday, January 26, 2013 from 9:00
a.m. to noon on “Animal Tracks
and Signs at Morefield Campground”!
Learn how to discover what animals are
out and about during the winter months
at the park. Hikers will learn how to
look for and identify animal tracks
and sign, and then explore the hillsides
around Morefield Campground. Past animal
tracks observed in the area include
weasels, rabbits, mountain lions, mice,
and coyotes.
This free program is limited to 20
people, ages 7 to adult. Meet at the
Morefield Village parking lot at Morefield
Campground, 4 miles from the park entrance.
Advance reservations are required. Call
the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum
staff at 970-529-4631 for more information
or to sign up.
This hike is part of the Southwest
Colorado Winter Ecology Series, a partnership
between Mesa Verde National Park, the
San Juan Mountains Association, San
Juan National Forest, BLM Tres Rios
Field Office, and the San Juan/Four
Corners Native Plant Society. The series
is funded in part by a generous grant
from the National Park Foundation. Click
here for more information about
the Winter Ecology Series.
MVNP
Winter Recreational Opportunities
Mesa Verde National Park’s winter
trail systems are open for winter recreational
use! The trails include the Cliff Palace
Loop Road, Wetherill Mesa Road Trail,
Prater Canyon, and Morefield Campground
Trails. Maps and detailed information
on skiing and snowshoeing opportunities
can be obtained on the park’s website
( www.nps.gov/meve),
at the new park entrance Visitor Center,
by calling the Chapin Mesa Archeological
Museum at 970-529-4631, or by calling
park dispatch at 970-529-4622. Free
snowshoe loans are available at both
the Visitor Center and the Museum. The
new Visitor Center and store are open
daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The
Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum and
store are open daily from 9:00 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m.
Spruce Tree House, the park’s
third largest cliff dwelling and the
only alcove site open during the winter,
can be visited on a ranger-guided
walking tour offered three times daily
at 10:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 3:00
p.m. These one-hour tours are free
and do not require a ticket. Interested
visitors should meet the ranger in
the lobby of the Chapin Mesa Archeological
Museum just before tour time.
The Mesa Top Loop Road will remain
open throughout the winter from 8:00
a.m. to sunset, weather permitting.
Heavy snowfall or icy road conditions
may close the road temporarily. The
main park road will remain open throughout
the winter, subject to road closures
when hazardous road conditions exist.
Food service is available at Spruce
Tree Terrace, open daily from 11:00
a.m. to 3:30 p.m. There is no gasoline
or other fuel available in the park.
Free
Entrance to All National Parks on January
21
All 398 national parks across the
country, including Mesa Verde National
Park, will have free entrance on Monday,
January 21, 2013 in commemoration
of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
“The holiday provides the perfect
opportunity to visit a national park
with a direct connection to Dr. King
– a place where you could literally
walk in his footsteps,” said
National Park Service Director Jon
Jarvis. “Or, you could visit
one of the many national parks or
National Register of Historic Places
sites that honor the Civil Rights
Movement or other African American
accomplishments.”
National parks directly associated
with Dr. King include the Martin Luther
King, Jr. National Historic Site in
Georgia which contains his birthplace,
home, church, and grave; the 54-mile
long Selma to Montgomery National
Historic Trail in Alabama where he
led the 1965 Voting Rights March;
and the National Mall and Memorial
Parks in Washington, D.C. which include
the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
and the Lincoln Memorial where he
spoke of his dream for America.
Among the dozens of other national
parks that celebrate African American
achievements are New Orleans Jazz
National Historical Park in Louisiana,
Sequoia National Park in California,
George Washington Carver National
Monument in Missouri, Tuskegee Airmen
National Historic Site in Alabama,
and Nicodemus National Historical
Site in Kansas.
The National Park Service’s
National Register of Historic Places
also recognizes key locations associated
with African American history. Their
travel itineraries, We Shall Overcome:
Historic Places of the Civil Rights
Movement and Aboard the Underground
Railroad, provide details on more
than 100 significant sites.
In addition to Martin Luther King,
Jr. Day, the National Park Service
will also waive admission fees on
10 other days in 2013 – the weekdays
of National Park Week (April 22 through
26), the National Park Service’s
97th birthday (August 25), National
Public Lands Day (September 28), and
Veterans Day weekend (November 9 through
11).
National park passes that provide
free or discounted admission are available
for active duty military members and
their dependents, senior citizens,
and people with permanent disabilities.
For more information, visit
www.nps.gov
Pinnacles
Becomes the 59th National Park
President Obama has signed legislation
making Pinnacles National Monument
the system’s newest and 59th
national park. “This ancient
and awe-inspiring volcanic field
with its massive monoliths, spires,
cave passages and canyons is a place
that restores our souls and energizes
our bodies with its beauty and abundant
opportunities for outdoor recreation,”
said Secretary of the Interior Ken
Salazar. “I commend Representative
Sam Farr and Senator Barbara Boxer
for their vision in sponsoring the
legislation to make it a national
park.”
“As with our other national
parks and lands, Pinnacles also
is an economic engine, supporting
jobs in local communities,”
he said, noting that last year Pinnacles
hosted more than 343,000 visitors.
Each year, visitors spent about
$4.8 million and support 48 jobs
in the local economy.
Rising out of the Gabilan Mountains
east of central California's Salinas
Valley, Pinnacles is the result
of millions of years of erosion,
faulting and tectonic plate movement.
Within the park's boundaries lie
nearly 27,000 acres of diverse wild
lands. Visitors delight in the beauty
and variety of its spring wildflowers
and more than 400 species of native
bees. The Pinnacles rock formations
are a popular destination to challenge
technical and beginner climbers
alike.
Designated as a national monument
in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt,
the park’s management will
not change by the legislation. The
Pinnacles National Park Act recognizes
the broader significance of park
resources, specifically the chaparral,
grasslands, blue oak woodlands,
and majestic valley oak savanna
ecosystems of the area, the area's
geomorphology, riparian watersheds,
unique flora and fauna, and the
ancestral and cultural history of
native Americans, settlers and explorers.
“We are proud to add Pinnacles
to our family of national parks,”
said National Park Service Director
Jon Jarvis. “The beauty of
the land and the diversity of recreational
and educational opportunities offer
a unique experience to every visitor.
Pinnacles is a place worthy to be
called part of ‘America’s
Best Idea.'"
Pinnacles National Park is also
well known as an incubator of America’s
fragile population of California
condors. It is one of three condor
release sites in the country, and
the only release site in a national
park. Pinnacles has been a partner
of the California condor recovery
program since 2003. The park manages
31 free-flying condors. Each bird
is monitored after its release to
increase its chances of survival.
Park biologists and volunteers monitor
chicks hatched in the wild. They
check blood and feather samples
for signs of poisoning from ingestion
of lead-contaminated food. They
also monitor condors to aid research
about their habitat and movement.
The rock formations of Pinnacles
National Monument and the Gabilan
Mountain Range divide the park into
east and west districts which are
connected by trails, but not by
a vehicle road. More than 30 miles
of trails access geological formations,
spectacular vistas and wildland
communities. Pinnacles National
Park is a day-use park, with occasional
full moon hikes and dark sky astronomical
observations led by ranger-interpreters.
Learn more about America’s
newest national park at www.nps.gov/pinn
Save
the Date! Very Special Art Event
at Mesa Verde
Mesa Verde Foundation is pleased
to announce its inaugural Rims
to Ruins painting extravaganza
in Mesa Verde National Park. The
Rims to Ruins event will
show the tremendous diversity
of the park through the eyes of
nationally acclaimed participating
artists.
• Participating artists
will paint on May 20 and 21, 2013
on Wetherill Mesa, which is closed
to the general public at this
time of the year. Artists will
be allowed to paint in areas and
ruins not otherwise open to the
public at any time.
• On May 22, artists will
participate in a “quick draw”
event on Wetherill Mesa, followed
by an auction of framed art produced
that morning.
• Guests will be invited
to attend on May 22, watch artists
paint, enjoy a delicious brunch,
and participate in an auction
of the “quick draw”
pieces.
Artists then will complete two
or three pieces at their studios
that will be shown and offered
for sale at an event and exhibition
in Denver on October 22 at the
Denver Public Library. The artwork
will remain on view at the library
through November 3, 2013.
This promises to be a very special,
national art event. Some of the
participating artists include
Joe Anna Arnett, James Asher,
Joe Bohler, John Burton, Lorenzo
Chavez, Doug Dawson, John DeMott,
David Drummond, Barry Eisenach,
Gerald Fritzler, Veryl Goodnight,
George Hallmark, Jay Moore, Gary
Niblett, Ralph Oberg, Andrew Peters,
Robert Peters, Jesse Powell, Jim
Rey, Laura Robb, Elizabeth Robbins,
Curt Walters, and Jim Wilcox.
For more information, please
call MVF at 303-321-3120.
MVMA
Logo Desert Hiker Hat
The weather outside may be frightful
where you are, but soon enough the
summer hiking season will be upon
us. Make sure you’re ready
for it with our 100% cotton Desert
Hiker hat featuring the MVMA logo,
snap up sides, adjustable chin cord,
and grommeted vent holes. Available
in S/M (about 24" circumference)
and L/XL (about 25.5" circumference)
in Khaki, Green, or Indigo. Limited
quantities are available –
don’t delay!
Reasonably priced at $25.99, or
just $20.79 for Mesa Verde Association
members; click here
to purchase yours today. Proceeds
from your purchases support Mesa
Verde National Park.
Not a member yet? It’s easy
to join! Just click here
or call us at 1-800-305-6053 or
970-529-4445 for assistance.
Misplaced your member discount
code? Just call or email us at info@mesaverde.org
and we'll be happy to provide it
to you!
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